


Smoke and Mirrors

by wastelandofdreams



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, SEP, slow burn of sorts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-25 07:10:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17720513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wastelandofdreams/pseuds/wastelandofdreams
Summary: Maybe he was in too much pain to think earlier, or he just didn’t pay attention to it, but he’s already felt that kind of pain before. The kind that he experienced after leaving the lab.It was the Christmas morning last December. Vince was so scared he wanted to take Jack to hospital, but after a few hours the pain started feeling the way it did now.Strange, Jack thought.  If it really was a side effect of the injection, how could he have felt it before?~*~or, a Soulmate AU where soulmates feel each other's pain.





	Smoke and Mirrors

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is an idea I've had for quite some time now, and I'm very happy to share it with you!  
> Just a heads up though: this is my interpretation of that particular soulmate AU, where soulmets feel each other's pain with the same intensity only when they are far away from each other. When they're close, it's just a tingling senstaion in the same spot that hurts your soulmate.  
> I hope you understand what I mean, I suck at explaining thing.  
> Otherwise, I hope you enjoy <3

 

It was a chilly, July morning when Jack strolled out of the lab, trying to walk back towards his room. Yes, he was told that pain was a side effect of these injections but he didn’t expect pain _this_ extreme.  He was barely able to walk. He had to lean on a wall to move, and his world was spinning around him. He’s never felt that sick before.

 

Or did he?

 

‘’First injection, huh?’’ he heard someone say. He wanted to respond, but only a pained whimper left his mouth.  ‘’Yeah, the first ones are the worst. But it gets better after the third one, trust me.’’

 

Jack looked in the direction from which the voice came, trying to focus his sight on the person. When he finally did after a second, he saw a tan – skinned man, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes.

 

He’s never seen someone so beautiful before.

 

‘’Need a hand?’’ the man asked. Jack just nodded weakly, in too much pain to talk.

 

‘’Okay then, c’mere’’ he said and wrapped Jack’s arm around his own shoulders. He slid his other arm around Jack’s back, holding him up.

 

‘’You should try to tell me the number of your quarters. ‘’

 

Jack barely raised his voice above a whisper, ‘’It’s 2746.’’

 

‘’Funny. I live next door.’’

 

They walked the rest of the way in silence, apart from the regular sounds you can hear at a military base during the day. When they finally arrived in the room, Jack collapsed onto the bed.

 

‘’You should definitely take a nap now. The pain becomes more dull after a few hours. After that, a cold shower will help. And for the love of God, don’t take any painkillers unless you have a death wish. Seriously, the pain gets ten times worse after meds. I’m speaking from experience.’’ He said in a deep drawl. His voice was low, but soothing. ‘’If you need anything else, I’ll be in the room next door.’’

 

The man said and left, closing the door behind him.

 

God, everything hurt. Jack felt as if someone was ripping his muscles apart with a burning hot metal rod and his guts felt as if they were being mixed in a blender.

 

He felt like shit.

 

~*~

 

He didn’t even realize he had fallen asleep until he woke up with his face buried in the pillow. He immediately noticed the dullness of his pain. It was still there, but a bit less prominent.

 

The other soldier was right, then.

 

He glanced at the neon red numbers of the clock, which showed 8.30 am. He had slept for three hours.

 

As he slowly crept out of bed, he realized the other didn’t introduce himself.

 

Jack took a shaky breath as he entered the shower, turning it on.  The ice cold water brought instant relief as the tiny droplets slid down his pale skin. It was only then that he noticed he was actually burning up.

 

He took a deep breath, and let his mind wander to Vincent. His dark, chocolate hair, coffee  brown eyes…

 

He smiled at the thought of him, and closed his eyes.

 

At that time, he didn’t realize how much his boyfriend looked like the other soldier.

 

And almost as soon as he closed them, Jack opened his eyes in disbelief.

 

Maybe he was in too much pain to think earlier, or he just didn’t pay attention to it, but he’s already felt that kind of pain before. The kind that he experienced after leaving the lab.

 

It was the Christmas morning last December. Vince was so scared he wanted to take Jack to hospital, but after a few hours the pain started feeling the way it did now.

 

 _Strange_ , Jack thought.  If it really was a side effect of the injection, how could he have felt it before?

 

As he stepped out of the shower he happily noticed that he could walk on his own. His entire body was still terribly sore and he still felt like a furnace, but the cold made it all bearable.

 

He was snapped out of his thoughts by angry shouts coming from the room next door. He tried to listen to it, but only realized that someone was yelling in Spanish.

 

Suddenly he heard the loud, unmistakable crash of glass shattering. To his surprise he started feeling some weird tingling in the knuckles of his right hand. He clenched and unclenched his fist, but it didn’t go away.

 

Jack sighed as he put on some clothes on. It was a regular, white T-shirt with ‘SEP’ written above his left breast and a pair of grey sweatpants. H then left his room and approached the other, knocking on his door. He didn’t get a response.

 

After a while, he knocked again, harder this time.

 

After a moment of silence, the door cracked open to reveal the other soldier.

 

‘’Everything okay? I heard glass breaking – ‘’ Jack started, but the man cut him off.

 

‘’I’ll be fine. It’s just one of those times when you gotta punch a mirror’’ he started, holding up his right hand .His knuckles were a bloody mess, and tiny crystal-like shards were sticking out of his wounds in some places. ‘’Don’t worry about it though. It’ll heal in a while. Y’know, bonuses of being experimented on.’’

 

Jack chuckled weakly.

 

‘’Will you need help cleaning that up?’’ he asked, gesturing to the broken mirror.

 

‘’Nah, it’s good. Someone will probably come here to take care of it later.’’ The other responded, opening the door fully. ‘’Wanna come in?’’

 

Jack nodded and entered the room which looked exactly like his own, except that it had bigger windows. He could see the dust swirl slowly in the sunlight with every step he took.

 

‘’You haven’t introduced yourself.’’ He said, looking out the window.

 

‘’Where are my manners?’’ the man said in a sarcastic tone. Jack scoffed. ‘’Name’s Gabriel Reyes.’’

 

‘’Jack Morrison’’ the blonde answered. ‘’So how long have you been here?’’

 

‘’Almost eight months’’ he responded indifferently. ‘’I take it you’re feeling better.’’

 

‘’Yeah. Thanks for your advice, it helped a lot.’’

 

‘’I’ve already had eight out of ten injections. For me, the pain stopped after the third one, but for some people it doesn’t until the end of the program.’’

 

‘’Well that’s comforting’’ Jack said in a slightly defeated tone, turning his head to Gabriel who giggled. The blonde tried not to pay attention to his most adorable dimples. His gaze flickered to the picture on the nightstand next to the bed Gabriel was sitting on. He walked up to it and took the framed picture in his hands, taking a long look.

 

It was a typical, all white hospital room where a woman lied in bed, and Gabriel was standing next to it with small bundle in his arms. He had a huge smile on his face and tears were glistening in his eyes while the woman worn an exhausted, yet happy look on her face.

 

‘’That’s a picture from the day my son was born’’ Gabe explained after a while. ‘’It was one of the best days of my life.’’

 

Jack simply nodded, not really knowing what to say. He put the photo back in its place and glanced at the man in front of him.

 

‘’Your hand has healed.’’

 

Gabe looked at it. ‘’I told you it would happen, dumbass.’’

 

Jack laughed, and Gabe joined him. And that was when Jack realized the tingling in his own hand stopped.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I will try to post another chapter soon, but school is a bitch so who knows  
> Anyway, if you liked it, consider leaving a comment to let me know what you think <3


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